which deserves all the help it can get, that darn train coming back is the best new thing in the world today. i have been looking forward to doing that best new thing in the world for a very long time. not as long as the rockaways waiting for the a-train to come back. official notice, and for the rockaways itself, that darn train coming back is the best new thing in the world today. i have been looking forward to doing that best new thing in the world for a long time. not as long as the rockaways have been waiting to come back, but i was waiting to tell that story. "first look" is up next. good friday morning, right now on "first look," breaking news. the american mom busted in mexico for marijuana has been released. we have the latest. weather continues to be a major concern across the midwest and today is the first day of hurricane season. we got the latest on the slew of ricin-laced letters coming from gun enthusiasts. plus a new spelling bee champ is crowned. jon bon jovi's generous gift to his fans and what are these guys dressed up for? good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo. breaking news overnight, an arizona mother of seven has been released from a mexican prison

and is back in the u.s. this morning after a week long drug bust nightmare. 42-year-old yanira maldonado was arrested last wednesday by mexican soldiers after they allegedly found nearly 12 pounds of marijuana under her seat on a bus traveling from mexico to arizona. maldonado spoke briefly with reporters after her release. >> i want to say thank you first to god because i'm free now. and he sent me good people my way. and i'm very grateful that i'm free that -- for my family, my children. >> you can see her making her way across the mexico border into the u.s. here. a judge released maldonado after reviewing surveillance video that showed her and her husband carrying only blankets, water bottles and her purse on to the bus. more violent weather in the heartland. the national weather service confirms at least one tornado touched down after dark in the tulsa oklahoma suburb of broken arrow. no reports of injuries and the

damage is primarily to roofs. nearly 1,800 people are without power in the tulsa area. in arkansas at least nine are injured and one was trapped inside a car after two tornadoes touched down there. bill karins will have our full forecast in three minutes. turning now to moore, oklahoma where emotions are raw less than two weeks after a massive ef-5 turn tor through that community. crews demolished what was left of the plaza towers elementary school thursday. it's where seven third graders lost their lives during that devastating storm. >> i look at my daughter's school and i just can't, i can't imagine the babies that were in there and what they went through. >> school officials plan to rebuild plaza towers and another damaged school at an estimated cost of $20 million. some parents aren't sure whether it's a good idea to rebuild on the same land where the seven young students lost their lives.

it's what investigators are calling the dark side of the gun control debate. a letter addressed to president obama threatening advocates of gun control was intercepted thursday at a washington, d.c. screening center. it's not clear if that letter contained ricin but officials say it's similar to ricin laced letters sent to mayor bloomberg intercepted at a new york screening facility. another was sent to bloomberg's gun control group. investigators say all three were postmarked from shreveport, louisiana, and mailed on may 20th. in an unrelated case, the fbi said thursday a letter containing ricin was mailed to president obama from spokane, washington. now to what's being called a problem with no good options. syria and what to do about continued fighting. president obama meets with nato secretary-general today as the u.s. grapples with how to respond to the ongoing civil war. tracie potts joins us live from washington with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this morning there is news from

syria's president that missiles from russia that had been contracted and promised three years ago are now in the process of being delivered. in fact, he says the first shipment is already there. the state department can't confirm this, but if, in fact, that's the case, it escalates the situation and raises more questions about whether or not the u.s. should be arming the other side, the opposition, that's what john mccain has said. monday when he went on a secret mission into syria, he met with the opposition there. today, in washington, president obama meeting with the secretary-general of nato. they're trying to get both sides to sit down together at a table and talk peace. next week in geneva, the u.s. and some of its allies are meeting to try to push that forward. russia says the u.s. should forget about establishing a no-fly zone over syria. new this morning, a michigan woman, believed to have been killed there in syria while fighting with the opposition.

mara? >> tracie potts, live in washington, thank you. defense secretary chuck hagel says cyber threats are very real and dangerous. that's why cyber security will take top billing this weekend when he meets with members of a chinese delegation. hagel is calling for rules of the road to prevent conflict on global computer networks. the meeting comes amid ongoing cyber threats and china uses cyber based attacks. hagel says cyber security will be a topic at next week's nato meeting for defense ministers. now to reports of massive corruption plaguing the preparation for the winter olympics in russia. a former russia deputy minister claims that up to $30 billion

have been stolen from funds intended for the sochi games. cost overruns have quadrupled. the head of the russian olympic committee said he's confident russian prosecutors and auditors are keeping an eye on costs. when it comes to the national spelling bee, there's a new champ. knaidel. k-n-a-i-d-e-l. >> 13-year-old ar vin mahankali won the scripps national bee. he correctly spelled knaidel, which n case your wondering is a ball of leven dough. spelled k-n-a-i-d-e-l. now here's your "first look" at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. there were laughs and tears during oprah's commencement

speech on thursday at harvard university, but she also addressed gun control reform. >> we understand that the vast majority of people in this country believe in stronger background checks because they believe we can uphold the second amendment and also reduce the violence that is robbing us of our children. they don't have to be incompatible. the "new york post" says president obama's half brother is trying to take his younger brother's celebrity all the way to the bank. malik obama is reportedly sell two of the president's handwritten letters for $15,000 a pop. a measure to force a recall election of controversial arizona sheriff joe arpaio has failed. opponents needed 335,000 signatures but only gathered about 300,000. the california state senate has approved a bill revoking the tax exempt status of the boy

scouts of america. texas senator ted cruz is not making many friends in washington after saying he doesn't trust members of his own republican party. former vermont governor howard dean tells msnbc's lawrence o'donnell that cruz is manipulating washington for his own personal gain. >> ted cruz and marco rubio, some guy from utah are holding up the budget. but they're right one nut jobs that don't fundamentally care about the country. they care about their political future. >> leaders of the pentagon are reporting to a surge of sexual assaults. victims will be able to go online to the safe help room and support one another. a report earlier this month estimated some 26,000 instances of sexual abuse were inside the military last year. and lawmakers are planning a party for congressman john

dingell, who will soon become the longest-serving member of congress in history. the michigan democrat came to washington back in 1955 when dwight eisenhower was president, and "mr. sandman" topped the radio charts. now for the weekend forecast, bill karins is here. good morning. >> we survived another day yesterday without a big tornado, without fatalities. that's good. hopefully we'll do it again today. yesterday we had 16 tornadoes, most of those on the weaker side, but a lot of wind damage out there through the great lakes. even this morning storms are still rocking and rolling through arkansas. severe thunderstorms near the kansas city and topeka area out there and in the areas of eastern kansas. that's probably the worst of the weather. as we go throughout the day today, more severe weather in yellow, chicago, detroit, indianapolis, st. louis that area of red a moderate risk of severe storms and torpnadoes, once again targeting oklahoma

city, norman and the ozarks. it looks like st. louis is forecast for a top eight all-time flood it should crest on tuesday at about 40 feet. the city itself will be safe. the northeast stays hot today and tomorrow. it looks like the storms will clear the midwest by sunday. coming up, it is sentencing day for the madam in the zumba prostitution ring. oprah's advice for harvard graduates, plus burger king is offering a whole new way to eat the whopper. [ female announcer ] now you can apply sunblock

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some stories making news this morning. in southern california, wild fires are forcing campers and residents out of the mountains in santa barbara county. the fire broke out in the white rock camping area. helicopters are being used to fight the flames. a 30-year-old former zumba instructor who turned her studio into a brothel is headed to

jail. alexis wright pled guilty to 20 counts including prostitution, conspiracy and tax evasion. she was busted last year, the same time she told her business partner she felt it was going to be a good week. oprah winfrey was among the speakers during wednesday's commencement ceremony at harvard university. the queen of all media gave graduates real talk after discussing past ratings troubles with her cable network. >> the law of averages predicts that you will at some point fall. when you do, i want you to know this, remember this, there is no such thing as failure. failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. >> the 59-year-old got teary eyed when she received an honorary doctorate of laws degree from the school. you to for a look at

business we turn to berth bertha coombs. >> futures are pointing to a lower start this morning. stocks rose on thursday on the back of positive housing data with one day left in may, the dow is set for its sixth straight winning mon. mortgage rates are rising. you probably know if you're looking for a new mortgage. freddie mac says the average rate on a loan hit 3.81%, up from 3.59% the prior week. mortgage rates track the yields on the ten-year treasury note which hit a 13-month high this week. and new golf. data shows americans have regained less than half the wealth they lost during the recession. household wealth plunged by nearly $17 trillion between late 2007 and early 2009. even though home prices and stock prices have come back, a lot of people used up their savings and lost their homes. so they're still down in the red. >> good to keep that in mind. thank you very much. in other business news,

mcdonald's ceo don thompson reveals he lost about 20 pounds in the past year by working out, but he adds he still eats at the golden arches every day. burger king is offering a brand new way to wolf down those whoppers. they have invented a hands-free device to allow you to eat without interruption. over 6 mi$6 million was rai from healing the heartlands den fit. the cleveland man that rescued the three women held captive for a decade in ohio has taken on a new job. charles ramsey accepted a position as a motivational speaker with a las vegas firm. he is now available for speaking engagements and personal appearances in the $10,000 range. that's per appearance, none have been booked just yet. and finally where are the best tipping in the world from? according to a new survey by trip adviser, germans tip the most, followed by americans and

russians. italians tip the least. your sports highlights are straight ahead. plus francize your way to good health. seriously. with so much noise about health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile. not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks. so i'm doing fine... but she's still going to give me a heart attack. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

. well, it's time for the latest in sports from richard lui. >> game five of the nba playoffs was three-letter show, all lbj.

lebron james killing it in the third quarter against indiana. he finished with 30 points. miami leads three games to two in the series. the nba fined james and pacers david west $5,000 each for flopping, pretending to be fouled, falling down there. lance stephenson also got the flop fine. the winter olympics are coming to sochi, russia airing here on nbc. here is the new medal design. what do you see? all are supposed to show the sun's rays reflecting through a prism of mountains and sandy beaches. the mets beat the yankees four straight games in the a.l. subway series. sign of the times, 4-year-old fan aden. >> aden, why are you upset? >> because. >> because why? >> why don't they give us just

one chance. >> chance for what? >> a yankee fan. yankee fans are winners. i want to -- >> how about if the yankees are losing? >> i would vote for them not. >> you basically go for whoever is winning? >> yeah. >> oh. so you're a frontrunner? >> yeah. >> not a flip-flopper. >> i'm not a flip-flopper. you hurt my feelings. >> that sounds like bill karins. she has faced taunting, prance threatening injuries, but ridicule, ha, take you this, unbelievers. prancercizing is viral. it involves ankle weights, a spri springy rhythmic way of forward. this was created back in 1989. >> she seems to be in good shape. who are we to judge. time to dig deeper into our top political stories.

joining me is kevin sorilla. let's start with poll numbers, a new poll found that obama's approval is down to 45% from 48%. what do you think are the key factors driving the numbers? >> i think independents are the key factors. among independents he has a 57% disapproval rating versus 48% -- that's down from 42% just a month earlier. i think that independents with these three controversies surrounding the white house now are driving these numbers down. >> now, john mccain is making headlines after a secret trip to syria. he wants the u.s. to arm rebels there. is he being too hawkish or hasty on the issue? >> i think john mccain has been consistent on his stance on this. he said for a while he is urging for president obama's administration do more with syria. and i think that he, when he came back and you got a look at this through the lens of the bengahzi criticism that he has

been lodging recently, he says the syrians told him that they want more support from obama, the syrian rebels, and that he's going to continue to urge for that support. >> now, oprah stepped into the political arena this week touting background checks and immigration reform. does she have political juice? she did help get obama into office in 2008. >> she backed off in 2012. she said she still supported him. i would never count oprah out. she seems to be growing her network. i think we're still -- she made headlines yesterday with sandy hook, gun control, eluding to this second amendment rights in her honorary degree yesterday. so, she is still grabbing headlines and knows how to make a point. >> all right. politico's kevin cirilli, thank you.

up next, bill karins and richard lui will be here for first buzz. we'll tell you the stories we're talking about. [ female announcer ] made just a little sweeter... because all these whole grains aren't healthy unless you actually eat them ♪ multigrain cheerios. also available in delicious peanut butter. healthy never tasted so sweet. cheryl burke is cha-cha-ing in depend silhouette briefs. for charity, to prove that with soft fabric and waistband, the best protection looks, fits, and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try for yourself. do you want the long or short answer?

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it's time for "first buzz" the stories that caught our eye this morning. so, really interesting story out of maryland. 8-year-old boy, as 8-year-old boys tend to do, chewed his pop start into the shape of a gun. he gets suspended from school for that. that's crazy enough. now the nra stepped in, they have given him a lifetime membership worth $550 to support him. he's hired a lawyer. his family is appealing the suspension. everybody wants to keep our students safe. but is this a commonsense measure? the suspension is ridiculous. i want to see the kid take a pop tart and turn it into a gun.

they're crispy and break easily. >> you have another school story, right? this has to do with the ncaa. a lot of critics saying way too much policing or not enough policing. the 500 page rule book. there's a woman golf player from a west coast conference school. she was washing her car and got a fine for using the university water and hose, 20 dollars was the fine there. folks are doing what are you doing this for because you have other issues. you're policing that? it goes back to the bagel and cream cheese rule. >> does the school need the money that bad? you have a school story. >> a principal had forgot ton give a religion class to a high school class in sweden, so the whole class cannot graduate. they're being told they have a couple days to take a year's worth of work and finish it or they'll have to come back in the fall and complete it.

can you imagine? >> talk about cramming. >> you wonder if the principal will pay a penalty for that. >> i hope so. >> i'm mara schiavocampo this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" starts now. have a great weekend. k-n-a-i-d-e-l. >> you are the champion. >> what is the significance of this kind of accomplishment for you this year? >> well, it means that i am retiring on a good note. >> what are you going to do now that you're retired? play golf or what? >> i shall spend the summer, may the entire day studying, like,

physics or something. >> at 13, they thought he was over the hill and a little weak on german-daysed words, but arvind mahankali would quiet the doubters. no celebration fors for eri holder, he says the department will change the way it investigates a leak. and the gift that keeps on giving. allegations of crack use, politics, the mayor of toronto talks, and of course we listen. it's "way too early" on a friday. good morning. i'm brian schactman. it is may 31st, it is a friday. i love how the young man is retiring at the age of 13 on top. we'll have more from the spelling bee including reaction from the people who did not win, which is always interesting to watch. we don't want